Shecluded

Shecluded is a female-focused fintech providing access to better credit and financial services to women-owned businesses. Shecluded's business model is unique because it is designed specifically to meet the unique financial needs of women entrepreneurs. The platform leverages technology to assess and underwrite women's creditworthiness, reducing the risk of defaults and lowering the cost of capital. Shecluded also provides financial literacy training and support to women entrepreneurs to help them make informed financial decisions and grow their businesses. The platform has already supported over 300 women with business loans to start and grow their businesses, and it is currently covering 10 states in Nigeria with over 20,000 community members.

A $300 billion gap in financing exists for formal, women-owned small businesses, and more than 70 percent of women-owned small and medium enterprises have inadequate or no access to financial services* (Ifc.org) Even though about 40% of Nigerian entrepreneurs are women (one of the highest rates in the world), many socioeconomic and current practices prevent women entrepreneurs from gaining access to loans to start and scale their businesses, further widening the gender wealth gap.

1% increase in these women’s contributions (economic activities) raises the nation’s GDP by 58.4%. Experts predict that this market will grow by 11% by 2030, and we are positioned to serve 8% of the total market share in Africa by 2027.

Shecluded is addressing the challenge of women's financial inclusion, particularly women entrepreneurs who are excluded from essential financial services, such as credit, to facilitate business growth. In Nigeria, where the majority of female entrepreneurs are driven into entrepreneurship by unemployment, Shecluded provides business loans and incubation to women entrepreneurs to start and grow their businesses. Shecluded's mission of delivering simple and inclusive financial growth services, business resources, and opportunities to enable women to thrive financially aligns with 100x's issue area of focus on financial inclusion, which is key to reducing poverty, empowering individuals, and promoting economic growth.

As a company interested in social security and financial independence of women, Shecluded aims to address these challenges through the provision of a digital banking and community platform which empowers young women with the financial literacy skills to access financing and other forms of business support for their enterprises. Our business model is driven by the power of community. We leverage our strength of diversity and experience to provide the most affordable and flexible solutions.

In addition to credit facilities which SHECLUDED provides its clients (female-owned business enterprises), we provide a 360 degree concierge consultancy service to all our clients in order to create a positive impact on their operations which we are funding. In this regard, SHECLUDED earns interest income as well as deriving income from offering its business services to our teeming customer base. This accounts for about 80% of our revenue. 

Shecluded's long-term vision is to inspire and enable a world where women can thrive financially. The platform aims to become a leading fintech for women entrepreneurs in Africa, providing access to better credit, financial services, and resources. Shecluded aims to close the gender financing gap for women-owned businesses in Nigeria and Africa, by supporting more women with access to affordable and sustainable financial services. Shecluded also aims to create economic opportunities for women in Africa, by enabling women to start and grow successful businesses that create jobs and drive economic growth in the region.

Shecluded has had a significant impact on women's financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. In the past year, Shecluded has supported over 300 women with business loans to start and grow their businesses, and has processed over $1.3M in business loans. The platform has also covered 10 states in Nigeria with over 20,000 community members. Shecluded has introduced women to financial literacy, leading to greater adoption of savings, investing, and health insurance, and 37% of Shecluded's customers had never accessed credit, but now have a credit history. Shecluded measures impact by tracking the number of women entrepreneurs supported, amount of loans disbursed, number of community members, and customer feedback.

Shecluded has a well-rounded team with expertise in different areas, all of which are necessary to achieve our mission. Our Founder and CEO, Ifeoma Uddoh, is an accomplished CEO with a proven track record of success in startups, venture investments, and credit. She is skilled at driving growth and impact through strategic planning and data-driven decision-making. Ifeoma is also passionate about gender lens investing and gender economic advocacy, with experience as a board member and facilitator.

Michael Mgbeahurike, our CTO, is a seasoned technological operator with experience building successful tech companies. Isaac Ewaleifoh is an investment performance and risk analytics professional with over a decade of financial services experience spanning across multiple functions. Farida Yahya, our VP of Strategic Partnerships & Business Development, has over ten years of working experience in the media, community, and social development sectors. Daisy Osuagwu is a business development manager with close to a decade of experience in developing strategic partnerships and building inclusive communities for emerging startups/products.

We believe that our team is the best situated to implement our solution because we have the necessary experience, passion, and knowledge to tackle the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Shecluded has supported over 300 women with business loans to start and grow their businesses, and has processed over $1.3M in business loans. The platform has also covered 10 states in Nigeria with over 20,000 community members.

There is a high demand for our services as we receive an average of 250 requests daily for our credit facilities out of which we are only able to meet approximately 3% due to a number of reasons, primarily the businesses not meeting our minimum criteria for eligibility or due to the unavailability of funds. Being big on impact and feedback, the more impact SHECLUDED can make in the lives of her female-owned business owner clients, the greater our fulfillment as a woman-centered Fintech organization.

I want to participate in the MIT Solve program because I believe this program will broaden my perspective and improve my skills as a social impact leader. Learning from businesses and organizations that are very similar to mine, but building in a different ecosystem will deepen my understanding of how to spur inclusive growth in my community.

Financial independence and reducing income inequality in our communities is at the heart of why I am building Shecluded. I am currently working with partners across multiple sectors to ensure that we not only expand our reach, but also build a sustainable ecosystem for underserved communities without access to the internet, and I believe this program will enhance my partnership skills to enable us deliver more features that support our goal of providing inclusive financing options to 5000 women across Africa by 2025

I plan to use these skills to create a domino effect in my community by peer mentoring and building the capacity of my team. In the next five years, I plan to build strategic partnerships from this program that will make equal access to digital financing and boost the business growth of 10,000 African women by 50%

Shecluded is a financial wellness company for women, by women. We leverage the power of community and alternative data to provide women with access to credit and other financial services and products. Access to finance has remained a huge stumbling block for women who own/run micro and small scale businesses. There is a trust gap on both sides, and the interest rates and processes are too high and cumbersome for small business owners, Shecluded bridges that gap by providing single digit interest loans through a fast, seamless process and a short turnaround time. We provide growth loans, inventory and asset financing as well as health insurance at single digit interest rates.

Shecluded has had a significant impact on women's financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. In the past year, Shecluded has supported over 300 women with business loans to start and grow their businesses, and has processed over $1.3M in business loans. The platform has also covered 10 states in Nigeria with over 20,000 community members. Shecluded has introduced women to financial literacy, leading to greater adoption of savings, investing, and health insurance, and 37% of Shecluded's customers had never accessed credit, but now have a credit history. Shecluded measures impact by tracking the number of women entrepreneurs supported, amount of loans disbursed, number of community members, and customer feedback.

Shecluded's long-term vision is to inspire and enable a world where women can thrive financially. The platform aims to become a leading fintech for women entrepreneurs in Africa, providing access to better credit, financial services, and resources. Shecluded aims to close the gender financing gap for women-owned businesses in Nigeria and Africa, by supporting more women with access to affordable and sustainable financial services. Shecluded also aims to create economic opportunities for women in Africa, by enabling women to start and grow successful businesses that create jobs and drive economic growth in the region.

With Nigerian youth making up about 49% of the total workforce (according to a 2019 NBS labor force report) and almost half of these (24.5%) are either unemployed or underemployed. 

This data further underscores the need for a bridge between the formal and informal sector. Nigeria has a vibrant growing population that has an unskilled and undereducated demography which requires a combination of business coaching, mentoring, consultancy services, digital marketplace and microlending to fully harness it’s potential. 

We believe our solution will facilitate the financing of expansion for 600 female owned businesses in the manufacturing, catering, retail, fashion industries, for women being supported by SHECLUDED as well as provide funding for 400 startups, a total of 1000 beneficiaries over a 24-month period

In the last three years, we have been committed to building community and gathering alternative data across 15 states across Nigeria, this has provided us with valuable insights about not just the short term needs, but the looming danger to social security as the global economy recovers in a post-COVID 19 era. Our growing community of over 20,000 women across 13 sectors has given us a unique leverage to co-create solutions that will serve and impact our community of women. 

Even though about 40% of Nigerian entrepreneurs are women (one of the highest rates in the world), many socio, economic and cultural practices, prevent women entrepreneurs from gaining access to loans to start and scale their businesses, further widening the gender wealth gap. As a champion for financial inclusion, we are also partners for progress as we work to support the Central bank of Nigeria macroeconomic policy to increase the current national financial inclusion rate of women accessing financing for their businesses from the current 64.9% to at least 93% by 2024.

Shecluded has had a significant impact on women's financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in Nigeria. In the past year, Shecluded has supported over 300 women with business loans to start and grow their businesses, and has processed over $1.3M in business loans. The platform has also covered 10 states in Nigeria with over 20,000 community members. Shecluded has introduced women to financial literacy, leading to greater adoption of savings, investing, and health insurance, and 37% of Shecluded's customers had never accessed credit, but now have a credit history. Shecluded measures impact by tracking the number of women entrepreneurs supported, amount of loans disbursed, number of community members, and customer feedback.

Shecluded is currently funded through revenue from its products and services. The platform generates revenue from the interest charged on business loans, and has grown its revenue from $40,000 in 2020 to $88,000 in 2021. Shecluded has also partnered with organisations, such as Microsoft ADC, Startup Kano, Jobberman, and WeVotes, to implement projects that support women entrepreneurs and provide them with access to skills and resources. These partnerships have enabled Shecluded to expand its reach and impact, without the need for external funding.

Shecluded is a financial wellness company for women, by women. Our advantage is that we leverage the power of community and alternative data to provide women with access to credit and other financial services and products. Access to finance has remained a huge stumbling block for women who own/run micro and small scale businesses. There is a trust gap on both sides, and the interest rates and processes are too high and cumbersome for small business owners, Shecluded bridges that gap by providing single digit interest loans through a fast, seamless process and a short turnaround time. We provide growth loans, inventory and asset financing as well as health insurance at single digit interest rates. Shecluded has introduced women to financial literacy, leading to greater adoption of savings, investing, and health insurance, and 37% of Shecluded's customers had never accessed credit, but now have a credit history. Shecluded measures impact by tracking the number of women entrepreneurs supported, amount of loans disbursed, number of community members, and customer feedback.

Our advantage is that we leverage the power of community and alternative data to provide women with access to credit and other financial services and products. Access to finance has remained a huge stumbling block for women who own/run micro and small scale businesses.

We use artificial intelligence to sort through alternative data such as digital footprint and community support on our website and mobile application to build credit worthiness metrics.

We use machine learning (ML) models to predict creditworthiness and loan affordability. Our web application also helps to manage end-to-end credit processes from the loan application, approval, disbursement and repayment.  

Soon, our web application will support more product features, including a directory where women entrepreneurs can be found and a learning platform for women to take business and personal financial literacy courses.

Shecluded has a 80:20 ratio with women making up 80% of our founding team and board. We believe that our team is the best situated to implement our solution because we have the necessary experience, passion, and knowledge to tackle the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Nigeria

Shecluded has a well-rounded team with expertise in different areas, all of which are necessary to achieve our mission. Our Founder and CEO, Ifeoma Uddoh, is an accomplished CEO with a proven track record of success in startups, venture investments, and credit. She is skilled at driving growth and impact through strategic planning and data-driven decision-making. Ifeoma is also passionate about gender lens investing and gender economic advocacy, with experience as a board member and facilitator.

A $300 billion gap in financing exists for formal, women-owned small businesses, and more than 70 percent of women-owned small and medium enterprises have inadequate or no access to financial services* (Ifc.org) Even though about 40% of Nigerian entrepreneurs are women (one of the highest rates in the world), many socioeconomic and current practices prevent women entrepreneurs from gaining access to loans to start and scale their businesses, further widening the gender wealth gap.

Our Go-To-Market strategy includes the following: 
1. Strategic Collaboration - Partnerships with businesses within the financial services & E-commerce, agrictech ecosystem to provide targeted financing options for women customers.

2. Technology Integration - Cross country payment and business integration that provide access to vetted female entreprenuers across the globe.

3, Connecting women businesses to customers through the app - A business hub for our growing diverse community of women where they can facilitate their business transactions (buying and selling) with one another over the app through their wallets. 

We use both online and offline channels to reach and acquire our customers. Shecluded measures impact by tracking the number of women entrepreneurs supported, amount of loans disbursed, number of community members, and customer feedback.

Shecluded is currently funded through revenue from its products and services. The platform generates revenue from the interest charged on business loans, and has grown its revenue from $40,000 in 2020 to $88,000 in 2021. Shecluded has also partnered with organisations, such as Microsoft ADC, Startup Kano, Jobberman, and WeVotes, to implement projects that support women entrepreneurs and provide them with access to skills and resources. These partnerships have enabled Shecluded to expand its reach and impact, without the need for external funding.

SHECLUDED will earn revenue from interest income and other support services provided as tailored services for our clients. Profit sharing from this will be dependent on the type of business venture being funded and respective cash flow.

The income from the jobs created aligns with SHECLUDED revenue in the following ways;

- Profit-sharing, the higher the profit earned in the created jobs, the more revenue accrues to SHECLUDED, based on the agreed sharing ratio

- Provision of Business Development and Support services which SHECLUDED will charge and earn revenue from as the businesses grow

Our business model is driven by the power of community. We leverage our strength of diversity and experience to provide the most affordable and flexible solutions. This is evidenced in the traction we have gained as a company over the last two years without an ad budget.

There is a high demand for our services as we receive an average of 250 requests daily for our credit facilities out of which we are only able to meet approximately 3% due to a number of reasons, primarily the businesses not meeting our minimum criteria for eligibility or due to the unavailability of funds. Being big on impact and feedback, the more impact SHECLUDED can make in the lives of her female-owned business owner clients, the greater our fulfillment as a woman-centered Fintech organization.